


I think you're my best friend

by Bookworm39



Series: RvB Angst Wars [3]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Angst, Doing stupid things to your injuries, Gen, Major Character Injury, POV First Person, RvB Angst War, Swearing, keep in mind this was written.. halfway ish through s15?, so hopefully caboose's reaction to death still holds up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:21:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22828597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookworm39/pseuds/Bookworm39
Summary: (originally posted June 16, 2017)gkingoffez said: RvB Angst War prompt- Caboose breaks his leg in the middle of a fight, and Tucker gets hurt trying to drag him out. Carolina and Epsilon find them once the battle is over. Happy or sad ending, you decide. *finger guns*Nobody wanted to admit how much they cared until then.
Relationships: Leonard L. Church & Lavernius Tucker, Michael J. Caboose & Lavernius Tucker, Michael J. Caboose & Leonard L. Church, Michael J. Caboose & Leonard L. Church & Lavernius Tucker
Series: RvB Angst Wars [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1641157
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	I think you're my best friend

**Author's Note:**

> (insert generic message about finally posting my RvB Angst Wars 2k17 entries to AO3 and how I'm not updating the story/notes and instead just copy/pasting)  
> This is… the first time I’ve cried while writing. Maybe this is among my best works, maybe it’s just because I love these three and their friendship so much. (This is also my first time writing RvB fanfiction from the first-person P.O.V., so that might have something to do with it.) Either way, I hope this makes you guys as emotional as it did me.
> 
> Also, I was going to give it a happy ending, but I liked the sad ending too much to ‘fix’ it. If you want the happy ending, you’ll have to prompt me for it when Fluff Week starts. (EDIT: it's been over two and a half years, but if anybody's looking for it, just ask nicely and I'll still see 'bout writing a fix-it 'fic for my own thing. I could use the fluff, actually!)
> 
> Finally, the title is a quote from Fall Out Boy’s ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright.’ Combined with Jem’s ‘24 Hours’ and Matt Corby’s ‘Brother,’ it made a very sad soundtrack that I hope at least one person listens to while they read this.

“Tucker, come in. Everything alright?” _God dammit, why isn’t he picking up?_ “Tucker, for fuck’s sake, just let me know you’re alive, got it?”

“Everything alright?” Carolina asked, returning from talking to Kimball. The battle was finally over-for now, at least-and everyone was regrouping. I hadn’t been able to keep track of everyone, but I knew Tucker and Caboose had led their respective units off in one direction. Surely they’d be fine.

Right?

“Tucker’s not answering his radio.” At that point, I glanced up and saw Green Team and Blue Team heading towards us. “Fucking _finally_.” Maybe they could tell me what the dipshits were doing.

One of the soldiers-Lieutenant Palomo-picked up the pace, practically running to us. “Church! Agent Carolina! Something’s really wrong! We need help! We-”

Lieutenant Smith came up behind Palomo and cut him off. “Something happened during the battle.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that out.”

Carolina ignored me, saying, “What’s wrong? Is it about Caboose and Tucker?”

Palomo piped up again, saying, “Captain Caboose broke his leg! Captain Tucker stayed behind-he told us to keep fighting, he said he’d keep Captain Caboose safe-but when we went back to find them later, they were gone!”

_What?_

“What we _did_ find were a couple of space pirate bodies with sword wounds,” Smith continued. “We don’t know where they went, but we have to find them.”

Before Carolina could say anything, I found myself yelling, “Yeah, no shit, we have to find them! Palomo!” I turned to Tucker’s prize lieutenant, “Go find Wash!” He’d spent a lot of time looking for downed agents, surely he could find the guys, right? “And Smith! Where’d you lose them?”

“This way.” Smith took off with the rest of his team behind him.

“Come on, C.”

“Church, slow down. We have to be careful. They could’ve gotten captured, or-”

“No, they didn’t. They got lost because it’s Caboose and Tucker and Tucker was probably too busy bragging about killing those space pirates to look where he was going and Caboose is Caboose. They’re fine.”

All of those were lies, I was sure. Tucker would’ve been able to keep track of where he was going and Caboose wasn’t that dumb and they weren’t lost, they were hurt, maybe they were-

“Church. It’s alright. We’ll find them.”

* * *

I was starting to realize they wouldn’t find us. At least, not in time.

We’d sat in the sinkhole we’d dove into to avoid the space pirates for hours now. Our armor protected us from the worst of the impact, so we were, at least, no more injured than we’d been before the fall. Caboose played with Freckles, tossing and turning the rifle in his hands as he spoke to it, while I tried to ignore the pain in my side. Just a gunshot; I could live through this.

I hoped.

“Tucker?”

“What is it, man?”

“Why hasn’t anyone found us yet?”

“Well, we came down here to hide from the space pirates, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And we’re still alive, right?”

“Well, uh, my leg really hurts and I do not think I can really walk without somebody else using their legs… but yes. I am still alive.”

“So, clearly this was a good hiding place. Which means it’s gonna be kinda hard for the Chorus army to find us.”

“Oh, oh, that’s it! We are too good at hiding!” He looked up at the gap in the ceiling, yelling, “WE GIVE UP! COME FIND US NOW!”

“Caboose, I don’t think anyone can hear us,” I said, though that didn’t stop him from continuing to yell at the sky. I chuckled sadly. Over the past several hours, I found that Caboose was the worst person to be trapped with. Not because he could be annoying-though that _really_ didn’t help-but because of how hard it was to explain just how bad the situation was. How hard it would be to explain if we couldn’t get out.

If _I_ couldn’t get out.

“Tucker?”

“Hm?”

“Your face looks weird.”

I chuckled. “Hey, there’s no need to be an ass about it.”

“No, not your normal weird. Different weird. Bad weird.” Caboose sat up, trying to crawl towards me, but stopped suddenly, flinching at he moved his leg. “Ow.”

I thought for a moment. Maybe I should tell him. I felt woozy. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold out… “Want me to sit next to you, buddy?” I saw him do a double take. Usually, calling him ‘buddy’ was a Church thing. I wasn’t sure why I said it. Maybe I thought it’d made him feel better.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.” I crawled across the stone, only to stop a few feet away from him, wincing and throwing a hand over my side. “Tucker?” I heard him gasp dramatically, and he grabbed my shoulders, sitting me down next to him. “Stupid Tucker, that’s not good! You-you do not move when you are shot!”

I felt tears running down my face, partly due to the pain, and partly due to the fact that I couldn’t hide this from him any longer. “Hey, big guy. I need to tell you something.” I swallowed thickly. “I… I hate to have to tell you this, but… I don’t know if I’m gonna make it out.”

Caboose was quiet for a second. Then, “Tucker, don’t be stupid. You-why would they get me out of this hole, and not you? I-now you’re just being silly.”

“That’s… not what I meant.” I took a deep breath. He’d… never had a great grasp on the concept of death. When it came to when we thought Freckles was dead, Wash told me that Caboose never caught onto what it meant. Not to mention Church… Then again, if he kept coming back, it was kinda hard to blame Caboose for that.

But I wasn’t like Church, or Freckles. I wouldn’t come back.

“…I got hurt pretty badly, Caboose. I… by the time somebody gets here to rescue you, I’m probably not gonna be here.”

Caboose stared at me, wide-eyed. “But-but where would you go?” He still didn’t get it.

“I-I think I’m going to die before help gets here. And I’m not coming back.” Saying it out loud made me sick to my stomach. It hadn’t fully set in-I was worrying about my teammate-but just then, I realized it. I was going to die.

Oh god, I was going to die. I wouldn’t get to see any of my other friends again. Church, Wash, Carolina, Grif-

I’d never get to see Junior again. He’d be an orphan.

I was caught up in my own thoughts, so I didn’t notice Caboose moving until I heard him whimper. Looking down, I realized he was trying to force himself to his feet, holding me in his arms. “Caboose? Buddy, what-”

“I-Maybe, if I stand up…” I heard him sniffle in pain, as when I looked up at him, I saw fat tears rolling down his cheeks. “Maybe… Maybe I can boost you out… Then somebody will can you and find us…”

“Caboose, stop!” I shifted just enough to place a hand on his shoulder. “You can’t do anything, you’re just going to hurt yourself!”

“No! I-I will be fine, just-” He yelped, his broken leg crumbling beneath him, and we tumbled to the floor. “I-I-No! No, I…” He looked down at me, terrified. “But-But, Tucker, I-I don’t want you to _leave!_ ”

“I… I know, Caboose. I’m sorry.” I fought back tears. I didn’t want to make him sadder. “Hey, it’s okay, you can put me down.” _I don’t want you to have to hold my corpse._

“Tucker…” Caboose gently put me on the floor. He looked away, then said, “Do you want to talk to Freckles?”

I smiled slightly. “Heh, sure, buddy. Might make me feel better.”

* * *

I don’t know how much Tucker was sleeping before somebody found us. I let him hold Freckles, because Freckles made me feel better, and Tucker probably would have also liked talking to Wash or Agent Carolina or even Church, but-

But none of them were there. It was just me and Tucker. And I had to make Tucker feel better. Because he’s my friend.

I don’t know what happened after that. My memory gets fuzzy sometimes, when things get scary, and my memory was really fuzzy then. I remember Smith was there. He was happy I was alright. The scary doctor lady was there, too, and-and so was Church.

“Caboose! Oh, _fucking Christ_ , you’re _alive!_ ” He was all ghosty-like, so he couldn’t hug me, but Wash could, and he did, and I think Church wanted to hug me, too.

Tucker still wasn’t waking up.

I remember Church crying-I think he was crying-because he was happy that I was safe again. But then I heard him ask somebody else something that made me sad.

“Is Tucker alright, too?”

I remember Agent Carolina and Church talking.

“Church, you should stay with Caboose.”

“I know, but I think he’s fine. What about Tucker?”

“Church, please, just… stay over there.” Carolina always sounded so brave, but not now.

“Why? What’s wrong, Carolina?!”

Then Wash joined them. I think he was crying again. “Oh, god. No…”

“What? What is it?”

“Church, please, don’t-”

Silence. Then I heard Church screaming. “Oh, fucking… _No!_ No, he can’t- Tucker! _Tucker, wake up!_ You can’t just- No, goddammit, _no!_ ”

I started crying. “I-I-I’m sorry, Church. I tried to help him-” I curled up, closing my eyes. I wanted everything to be alright again. “I couldn’t, I’m sorry, he’s sleeping now, he’s gone, I’m sorry.”

I felt something appear next to me, and I opened my eyes to see Church floating in front of me. “I know you did, buddy. It’s OK. You must’ve been really brave.”

I reached up, wiping my eyes. “But-but he’s gone. I couldn’t…”

“I know.” Church sat down in mid-air, and he flickered. His helmet went away and I saw his face-I hadn’t seen it in a while, and even though his hair was more red than it was last time I saw it, I knew it was him. He smiled sadly at me. “But you tried. And sometimes…” He looked away. “Sometimes, that’s all you can do.”


End file.
